Linda Morris
Acclaimed artist Peter Kingston will return his Australia Day award, joining notable recipients who say the elevation of former tennis champion Margaret Court to the country’s highest honour undermines the awards’ intention to foster unity.
The landscape painter was awarded the Medal of Australia in 2012 for his art and his environmental activism helping to save Hinchinbrook Island and Nutcote, the Sydney harbourside home of May Gibbs, from development.
Kingston called on Court, a Pentecostal preacher who has attracted criticism for her views on same-sex marriage and homosexuality, to reconsider her words and actions and acknowledge the pain they caused.
Journalist Kerry O’Brien also refused to accept the Australia Day honour he was due to receive yesterday, citing the ‘‘deeply insensitive and divisive decision’’. O’Brien expressed his support for Canberra doctor Clara Tuck Meng Soo, who will also return the Order of Australia honour she received in 2016 for her work with the LGBTQI+ community and HIV sufferers.
Their stand raises pressure for an overhaul of the awards system that has been criticised as favouring political and social elites and men.